


What Could Be In The Future

by afteriwake



Series: Just Pieces On The Board [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Couch Cuddles, Cuddling & Snuggling, De-Aged Clint Barton, Developing Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov - Freeform, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Clint Barton, Magic, Maternal Instinct, Natasha Romanov Feels, Natasha Romanov Thinking, Other Fandoms Not Mentioned in Tags, POV Natasha Romanov, Protective Natasha Romanov, skinned knees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 11:19:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18222443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: When Clint is de-aged into a young child, Natasha comforts him when he's hurt and has a few thoughts about what could happen when things are righted.





	What Could Be In The Future

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dreamin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamin/gifts).



> I got a prompt from **Dreamin** for a trope mash-up of kidfic + hurt/comfort for a Clintasha fic. Not sure if this is what she's expecting, but it was the first thing that came to mind yesterday when I finally got around to starting it.

She stared at the blonde boy who, at least recently, wore a slightly gap-toothed grin, the skinned knees and the red on the heels of his hands showing the reason it was now replaced with a quivering lip and watery eyes. Whatever it was that had turned most of her fellow Avengers into children had mostly affected the men, though she had her suspicions it was some sort of magic spell perpetrated by a woman who’d had enough of bossy men. But Clint...well, he was usually never bossy. Not that he couldn’t be the boss; she’d worked plenty of missions with him to know he could call shots just as well as her, but this, seeing him young and vulnerable and injured, tore at her heart.

“What happened?” she asked, watching as the common room of the Avengers tower was turned into a makeshift nursery as male Avengers had been reverted to a variety of ages. The only three unaffected so far where Thor, Bruce, and Rhodey, all of whom hadn’t been on Earth when the spell or whatever had been cast. They couldn’t find Strange to find out if this was magical in origin but seeing as Wong had been a crawling baby in the Sanctum Santorum, she wasn’t holding out much hope he’d been spared.

“Got a boo-boo,” Clint said, sniffling slightly. “I was running, and, and, I tripped on my laces and fell and it hurts, Tasha!”

She pulled him into a hug on the sofa and rested her cheek against his head. She had been told she never really had a maternal side and had considered it to be maybe due in part because she couldn’t have children of her own, but she had the feeling that she did, in fact, have one, and it was only certain situations that brought it out.

There was...whatever it was that had developed between her and Clint over the years, especially when they’d been tasked on getting the Fridge escapees back under lock and key after the betrayal of those in S.H.I.E.L.D. who were loyal to Hydra. It had been a time where it was just the two of them crisscrossing the world on Tony’s dime, taking care of one problem after another, occasionally keeping up with how Molly and the others were doing. In the end, S.H.I.E.L.D. had ended up being rebuilt from scratch, and so much more had happened with the Asgardians coming to Earth and the destruction of one of the magical centers in London and the whole thing had convinced her to keep her allies close and Clint closest of all.

And maybe...maybe show him a bit of her heart along the way.

They had always been friends but now there was _more_ and she wondered what it all meant for them, their future together. Did he want to settle? Did he want children? Did he want something like a farm in some hidden place upstate where he could have a civilian life? Would he be willing to share it with her?

And most of all...did she want him to?

But as little Clint wrapped his arms around her waist and snuggled into her, she thought, perhaps, it might not be so bad if there were some domestic features in her future. She wanted a more settled life, and she wanted Clint and, just perhaps, she wanted both at the same time. And maybe she should tell him...when he was an adult, of course. For now, she could assure him he’d be okay and comfort him and that would be enough.


End file.
